Proofreader Offers Useful Mnemonic Devices for Demystifying Words That Are Confusingly Similar

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Mel Dawn
Mar 9, 2022 1:00 PM EST

Bear with me, but does one bear it all or bare it all? And speaking of bears, if a bear pays me a compliment, can I complement his compliment with a compliment? Or would that negatively affect the intended effect?

The English language is full of cruel tricks. There are many examples of English words that have totally different meanings and yet are nearly the same, sometimes only distinguished by a single letter. Proofreader @chronicleflask recently tried to demystify the English language in an educational thread. She also offered some very useful tips on how to remember the difference between commonly mixed up words like "forgo" and "forego." Everyone can use a good pneumonic device. 

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  • 01
    Font - Dr Kat Day @chronicleflask ... I am a proofreader. Would you like a list of words which are very nearly, not not quite, the same? Of course you would All right... 12:52 · 3/6/22 · Twitter for iPhone 41.7K Retweets 4,306 Quote Tweets 218K Likes
    via @chronicleflask

  • Before you get all hot and bothered by the typo, @chronicleflask was quick to acknowledge the irony of failing to proofread her own tweet after presenting herself as an authority on syntactic matters. 

    “I suppose if there was going to be a mistake, best it was here.” Said @chronicleflask.

  • 02

    Forgo vs. Forego

    Gesture - Dr Kat Day ... @chronicleflask Forgo: opt out/abstain Forego: go before (Remember FOREgo means beFORE)
    via @chronicleflask
  • 03

    Complement vs. Compliment

    Font - Dr Kat Day @chronicleflask Complement: completes something/ adds features Compliment: a nice thing to say (I always find myself double-checking this one. Remember compLEment means to compLEte)
    via @chronicleflask
  • 04

    Stationary vs. Stationery

    Font - Dr Kat Day @chronicleflask Stationary: not moving Stationery: paper, pens etc (Remember stationEry includes Envelopes)
    via @chronicleflask
  • 05

    Brooch vs. Broach

    Font - Dr Kat Day /. @chronicleflask Brooch: pinned jewellery Broach: raise a (difficult) subject (Think of pretty jewellery making you say “ooh!")
    via @chronicleflask
  • 06

    Peak vs. Peek

    Organism - Dr Kat Day /. @chronicleflask Peak: the top of something Peek: a quick look at something (Imagine the "ee" as 00)
    via @chronicleflask
  • 07

    Climactic vs. Climatic

    Font - Dr Kat Day @chronicleflask ... Climactic: culmination of events Climatic: relating to climate (Think "act" in the sense of story acts. This one is easy really, but also the sort of thing one's eyes can easily skip over.)
    via @chronicleflask

  • @chronicleflask threw in a couple examples that mostly apply to Brits. As an American, I'm glad I don't have to worry about these particular linguistic idiosyncrasies.

  • 08

    Licence vs. License

    Rectangle - Dr Kat Day @chronicleflask Licence: a permit (noun) License: to permit (verb) (This is a peculiarly British one: Americans keep it simple and use "license" for everything. Very sensible. Although...) 99
    via @chronicleflask
  • 09

    Practice vs. Practise

    Font - Dr Kat Day a @chronicleflask Practice: way of doing something (noun) Practise: to do something in a certain way, often with the aim of improving (verb) (Yes, a bit like licence/license. Except, just for fun, here Americans use the "ce" ending for both verb and noun.)
    via @chronicleflask
  • 10

    Advice vs. Advise

    Rectangle - Dr Kat Day a @chronicleflask Advice: guidance (noun) Advise: give guidance (verb) (What do you reckon? Heh, nope! This time US and UK English agree: "ce" for the noun, "se" for the verb) 66 99
    via @chronicleflask
  • 11

    Lightning vs. Lightening

    Font - Dr Kat Day @chronicleflask Here's a spelling I'm not ashamed to admit has tripped me up before: Lightning: an electrostatic discharge (noun) Lightening: make/become lighter in colour or weight (verb) I remember this because four constants in a row-ghtn-seem spiky to me (Midwives, bear with me..)
    via @chronicleflask
  • 12

    Phosphorus vs. Phosphorous

    Font - Dr Kat Day a /, @chronicleflask Oh, I forgot the chemistry classic! Phosphorus: chemical element, symbol P (noun) Phosphorous: relating to, or having properties of, the element (adjective) (I'm afraid I learned this through sheer brute force. Fortunately if you're not a chemist it doesn't often come up!)
    via @chronicleflask

  • Apparently, many people found @chronicleflask's tweets quite useful. The thread went wildly viral and thousands of people asked for additional tips on how to remember the difference between words like “affect” and “effect.” @chronicleflask indulged a handful of requests. 

  • 13

    Effect vs. Affect

    Font - Dr Kat Day @chronicleflask All right, I see all of you struggling with affect/effect. Let's take a crack at it: GENERALLY: effect: a change/an item (noun) affect: make a difference to (verb) To help with this, remember: she dropped her bag, but her personal effects weren't affected BUT also (sorry)...
    via @chronicleflask
  • 14
    Font - Dr Kat Day @chronicleflask ... effect: to cause something to happen (verb) affect: observable manifestations of an emotion (noun) So... the doctor effected changes to her medication which reduced her distressed affect (These are less common, especially affect as a noun-double-check when using!)
    via @chronicleflask
  • 15

    Rein vs. Reign

    Product - No one: ... Me: @thewildgoose · 1d A favourite for me is rein/reign, in the context of "keeping a tight rein" on something. Because both words kinda work, and "reign" might actually make more sense if you're not familiar with horses! ... Dr Kat Day @c... · 2d I am a proofreader. Would you like a list of words which are very nearly, not not quite, the same? Of course you would Show this thread 3 27 5 52 Dr Kat Day a/ •.. @chronicleflask Replying to @thewildgoose This is one that always
    via @chronicleflask
  • 16

    Tortuous vs. Torturous

    Font - Ngozi Chinegwundoh @gertruden... · 1d Tortuous and torturous; exalt and exult... 1 27 2 23 Dr Kat Day /. @chronicleflask ... Replying to @gertrudengozi Oh yes, “tortuous" – that's a good one: twisty-turny 99 As opposed to “torturous" which you are (UR) likely to find much more painful
    via @chronicleflask
  • 17

    Bear vs. Bare

    Font - Carol BH @CarolBH6 1d I always struggle with bear and bare...any top tips? 18 27 1 26 MegCNaylor @MegCNaylor · 1d ... Me too!! Would love a clarification. n maxted @nile_maxted 1d A bear is bare without his fur but a real male ... bear would never be bare. G 10 MegCNaylor Yes - I know this much. But do I bare with you or bear with you? @MegCNaylor · 1d ... 19
    via @chronicleflask
  • 18
    Vertebrate - Dr Kat Day @chronicleflask ... Replying to @CarolBH6 @MegCNaylor and @nile_maxted Bear with me... ン。
    via @chronicleflask
  • 19

    Viscous vs. Vicious

    Font - Stephen Bell @stevebwriter · 1d Venus: planet or goddess. Venous (concerning the veins). 11 Dr Kat Day a /. @chronicleflask ... Replying to @stevebwriter Ah. Yes. And also: ViScous: Sticky ViCious: Cruel/violent
    via @chronicleflask

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